Local businessman fed up with bullies

A Korean businessman is fed up by allegedly being bullied by teenagers who live near his business. The man who spoke to Samoa News on condition of anonymity said his store has not only been vandalized and damaged, but he’s had to put up with fights with several of the teenagers, in the past five years.

“Every time something happens I call the police, but it does not change anything, the culprits get arrested today and tomorrow they come back and harass me,” he said.

The Korean man, who is in his 30’s, says his only hope is the police, however sometimes police officers don’t get to his business in time and the culprits get away. He did commend the police officers for doing their job and always responding to his emergency calls.

In an interview with Samoa News, the man said last week an angry drunk kid punched the glass door of his store, and shattered the glass as a result. “The boy came and asked me for a phone card and said he’ll pay later, but when I refused to give it to him, he walked out and punched the door”, he stated.

He went on to say that this is the second time he’s had to change the door for his store, and these doors are not cheap. The upset man said he’s had enough with being bullied by the kids, and he’s saddened with how the teenagers are taking advantage of him. “Maybe because I’m Korean they come, wreck my store and talk down to me,” he said.

The man said, he’s always fair with his customers, “When I make a mistake to my customers, I apologize but these kids, they’ve not once said sorry after an incident occurs in my store. If something happens, they get arrested. Once they are released, they come back to my store and just pretend like nothing happened,” he said.

He told Samoa News that maybe it has to do with him being a foreign national. He went on to say, there’s another store in the area he lives, which is owned by a Samoan couple, and yet that couple does not have any problems with the kids. The man said he’s being bullied and it’s sad that this does not coincide with our culture, which is full of respect.

The Korean man — who’s been here for more than five years — said the Samoan culture he knows says that the young ones are supposed to respect the elders, but in his case he doesn’t get any respect from the teenagers who live in his community.

He said he has reached out to the media for help, only so other teenagers who think they can bully any foreign national can read and maybe learn something.